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August 26, 2011

C'est les Bon Bons de Revlon

✯Day 338 of Vintage 365 ✯

These days just about anything goes when it comes to nail colour, and while I like the freedom to sport a rainbow's worth of hues on your hands if you so want, at the end of the day, 99% of the time, I - vintage loving gal at that I am - reach for the most classic of shades.

Chiefly reds, but also pinks, burgundies and peaches. These colours are akin to neutrals when it comes to cosmetics for your hands. They're feminine, utterly timeless and unlikely to ever raise an eyebrow (pulses, however, are another matter entirely ).

Sometimes though - I suppose that would be the aforementioned 1% of the time - I do like to break out of my tried-and-true comfort zone of nail polish choices (in a nod to my early teen years perhaps, when I loved sporting funky hues like lime green and cobalt blue), but even then I usually stick with very soft shades like the colours in the delightfully lovely vintage Revlon ad below.

As one might have deducted from the inclusion of the word "frosted" in the description, this particular line - named rather beautifully Bon Bons de Revlon - debuted in 1959, as the decade neared ever closer to the most frost-filled make-up era of the 20th century.

Thankfully however these hues - with scrumptious sounding names like Pistachio Mint, Pineapple Yum Yum, Champaign Taffy, and Butter Pecan - stopped short of crossing into Priscilla Presley territory and remained more in line with the pastel craze that filled homes and wardrobes alike during the decade.

I love the sweetness of this line's name, the cheerful add with its trays of sweets and fresh cut blooms, and every single one of the nail polishes themselves.

Though these particular Revlon shades have probably long been out of product, one need only glance at them for a minute to recognize colours that are currently available from other lines at all manner of price points.

So while I do like to stick to my timeless reds and pinks most days, I love knowing that if I want to don pale, pearly blue or marigold yellow nail polish once in a while, I (and you!) can do so and still be wonderfully, authentically true to the styles of the 1950s. Now that’s c'est bon indeed!

8 comments:

Whenever I am down in the dumps and flat broke I know that if I have a dollar in my pocket I can get a bottle of nail polish to brighten my spirits. It's a quick, temporary fix to whatever ails me. I usually go for some shade of nail polish that in a saner state of mind I wouldn't buy, and sometimes I am happily surprised at the outcome.

What lovely colours! I saw some similar pastel colours recently, which I was tempted by.

Like you I usually stick to red and pink but I do have a bright yellow which I go for very occasionally. It goes surprisingly well with some of my clothes, particularly when I'm playing with a 60s look every once in a while. The problem with it is that it stains my nails awfully so then I'm obliged to keep up nail polish every day until my nails grow out! I like to let my nails "breathe" sometimes so that's a bit of a pain. But it doesn't stop me wearing the yellow!

In 1962, I had just turned 15. I saw a bottle of Revlon Frosted Pink Platinum in the window of the posh chemist in Cork's main street, South West Ireland. It cost me two weeks' pocket money but I had to have it. It was the sweetest, frostiest, palest candy pink imaginable, and everyone raved about it when I wore it but it seems that I had bought the last (only? ) bottle. I used it to the last drop, but I was never able to get a polish in that colour with the right degree of frosting or depth of colour again. They were either too brightly pink with too little pearling, or else there was so much silvering in them that you couldn't see the colour. So, it's been a huge delight to see this vintage ad with what seems to be my old favourite on the poster. Thank you!

Thank you very much for sharing your memories of this particular shade of nail polish with me, Corkycat. It's always a treat when an older post inspires someone to do as much. I shall keep my eyes firmly peeled for any polishes that seem, to me at least, to fit the Goldilocks-esque bill of being neither too pearly nor lacking in pearl and let you know here if I see one that seems like it might be a good fill in for Frosted Pink Platinum.

Revlon launched their Legacy Collection of lipsticks a few months ago, so who knows, perhaps they'll revive some classic nail hues one day and your beloved pink will be amongst it. Fingers crossed!

Found it! There it was, on the Essie stand - the perfect frosted candy pink. The shade is No. 18 Pink Diamond and it's just as I remember the original Revlon Pink Platinum to be. Even on older hands, it still suits me. Result!

That is awesome to hear! I've worn that shade myself (and may even have a bottle of it right now - I'm not sure off the top of my head). It's an elegant, feminine pink. I'm delighted that you found a suitable replacement and so touched that you came back here over a year later to share the good news with me. Thank you!!!

I'm Jessica, a lifelong lover of all things antique and vintage, especially those from the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

This blog is my visual scrapbook in which I record and share my thoughts on the multitude of sources, people and products that inspire and feed a modern gal's addiction to the past. I also post about the vintage clothes, hairstyles and make-up looks that I adore wearing.

Stay a spell and have a blast as we explore the incomparably fantastic world of vintage history and fashion together.

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